The education ministry confirmed in a statement Wednesday it was probing the allegations of corruption at the faculty, part of Toulon university, which enrolled 644 Chinese students for the current academic year. -- PHOTO: TOULON UNIVERSITY
PARIS - FRANCE is investigating claims that hundreds of Chinese students bribed officials to secure diplomas in a corruption scandal at a French university, the education ministry said on Wednesday.
Anomalies in French-language test
Separately, it emerged on Wednesday that anomalies had been spotted in the French-language test sat by would-be students in China.
In a letter seen by AFP, the CIEP international examining group warned French universities last month of a risk of fraud in recent tests conducted in five cities in China, in Beijing, Shanghai, Canton, Wuhan and Chengdu.
Prosecutors in Toulon launched an investigation last month after receiving a tip-off alleging that Chinese students were being sold degrees at the Institute of Business Administation (IAE) in the south-eastern town of Toulon.
The education ministry confirmed in a statement Wednesday it was probing the allegations of corruption at the faculty, part of Toulon university, which enrolled 644 Chinese students for the current academic year.
It said a report would be filed later this month that aimed to 'shed full light on the conditions in which diplomas were delivered, especially to foreign students, at Toulon university.' Le Monde newspaper reported on Wednesday that hundreds of Chinese students are suspected of buying sought-after French degrees at the faculty since 2004.
According to the paper, a group of Chinese students outraged by the practice first sounded the alert last year, reporting the allegations to their embassy.
Police caught wind of the alleged corruption ring last October while probing the assault of a Chinese female student, who was beaten up over an unpaid debt, and in turn alerted prosecutors and the university management.
Officers searched the university premises on April 9. According to Le Monde, they confiscated all Chinese exam papers for the past four years.
The paper said the university director told police he was approached by a student offering 100,000 euros (S$200,000) in exchange for bachelors' and masters' degrees for some 60 fellow Chinese students.
The number of Chinese students in France has soared from 1,934 in 1999 to 17,132 in 2006, making them the third largest foreign student group after Moroccans and Algerians, according to the CampusFrance study group. -- AFP
